Internet Society of Australia
A Chapter of the Internet Society
ACN 076 406 801
Held at 18:45 hrs on Monday 3rd December 2001 in the Lounge 2A of the State Library Building, Swanston Street, Melbourne.
Greg Watson was Chairperson.
The Chairperson noted that, as 13 current members of the Society were present and 28 valid proxies, there was a quorum present for the meeting. The Chairperson welcomed all those in attendance. The Chairperson noted the items on the agenda to those present.
Apologies: Andrew McRae, Andrew Arch, Gunela Astbrink, George Michaelson, Simon Hackett, David Thompson, David Keegel, Jeremy Malcolm
Proposal that Notice of AGM has been read
Proposed by Greg Watson; seconded by Cheryl Langdon-Orr. Carried
Unanimously.
Tony reported that ISOC-AU had
had a relatively successful year. A highlight of the year was the ICANN
conference which was well received by all and stood us in good stead. We were
finally recognised as a respected voice in Australia and this by any account
was a positive development.
But the battles were not all won yet. There were still many educational and
awareness issues that needed to be pursued, especially with political
representatives.
There had been substantial input into the federal election campaign from ISOC-AU
with support from organisations such as the Australian Computer Society,
Australian Telecommunications Users Group, Western Australian Internet
Association and South Australian Internet Association.
We developed a consultative process and made a strong statement on high quality
development of the Internet. There is a lot of material up on our website
relating to this, as well as Government responses.
From the point of view of our profile of activities, Tony suggested that
we may be unique in the world of ISOC Chapters.
Broadband threw up disappointing issues with ADSL and pricing arguments. At the
other end of the scale, our participation on the Internet Advisory Panel had
been fruitful. We had input into the 19.2k minimum threshold connect speed.
Still participating in trying to iron out problems with phone lines. $38
million had been allocated by Telstra for this with another $12 million from
the Federal Government.
ISOC-AU had input on the competition models for AUDA. There was a positive
conclusion to the process. There was a high degree of respect that the
competition panel produced. We need now to see that AuDA is capable of
delivering.
The user input side of the debate was unfunded. For instance, ISOC-AU
contributed with no vested interests. So we had an independent positioning.
There were a number of issues with regard to ICANN that were still being
debated. ICANN is planning to put an independent review board together and
Justice Michael Kirby has accepted our nomination.
We have been actively involved in Privacy issues. The legislation is very
complex and we are working on a number of fronts here.
ISOC-AU contributed to the National ICT Alliance to put in a unified position
for the ICT sector. This is particularly critical in a post "dot.com"
world. Only recently, the Productivity Commission issued a staff paper on
growth. It indicated that ICT has given productivity increases in the country,
contrary to some previous views.
The starting base for all of this was Internet usage. On this, Tony expressed
some disappointment that the ABS has discontinued the quarterly summary of
Internet use.
As far as the financial position of ISOC-AU was concerned, Tony noted that the
Audit Report had been submitted to ASIC on time and was available from the
website.
Tony noted to the meeting that the revenue for 2000/2001 had doubled from the
year previous. A large amount of the increase was due to ICANN. This was
evidence of the fact that we could carry out and organise a range of
significant activities and extend our influence through the same.
Tony also noted that our costs had also increased slightly more than the rate
of growth of our income. However, in these circumstances, this was a positive
aspect as there was a good level of risk management. Tony noted that it was not
a trend the Board wanted to continue.
Our reserves were around the $19,000 - $20,000 mark in previous years, but the
current figures clearly indicated that we were well head of this now.
The Chairperson noted that the Annual Reports and Accounts are available on the Society's web pages at: http://www.isoc-au.org.au/AGM2001/FY01/ .
The motion in respect of the Adoption of the Accounts and Reports was carried.
There were seven board vacancies and seven candidates, namely:
As per Article Article 48.1 there was no election of directors required at the Annual General Meeting and all of the above candidates were declared elected.
The Chair then thanked the departing Directors:
Greg Watson gave his thanks for all those who worked for ISOC-AU during the year under his presidency. He noted the ups and downs for the year and that all concerned had learned a lot. He wished the incoming Board members and the organisation all the best for the future. Greg indicated that he would be retiring from the board but would continue as a participating member.
It was RESOLVED that the minutes of the previous Annual General Meeting for 2000 be accepted.
Kate Lance gave thanks to Tony Hill for all of his work as Executive Director and especially the work done on ICANN.
Meeting closed at approximately 7:20pm.
Signed as a correct and complete record of the above meeting.
Greg Watson
President, ISOC-AU